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The SAS in the Falklands Campaign: updated

The Mail on Sunday published a story today about a former Argentine intelligence officer’s attempt to rip them off for a quarter of a million pounds. Victor Randazzo claimed to have access to photos and human remains proving that British Special Forces had fought and been killed on the Argentine mainland.

It’s an interesting idea. The SAS certainly had plans to land on Tierra del Fuego to wipe out the Argentine Super Etendard/Exocet threat but it was aborted. No SAS personnel entered the Argentine mainland: a few spent some time in Chile close to the Argentine border.

So what does this photo represent? The Argentine fraudster in question claims it was found amongst the effects of a dead British SF soldier in Argentina.

These are apparently British Special Forces personnel but definitely not SAS – according to Rusty Firmin – a former SAS soldier who took part in the Falklands campaign and was part of the sub-unit assigned for the attack on Rio Grande airbase. Nor are they members of 148 (Meiktila) Battery [Edited to add: Oh yes they are! I should have recognised the picture, which appeared in Hugh McManners’ excellent ‘Falklands Commando’. Thanks to all who tweeted to point this out], a part of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery which is how the photo is captioned.

So not SAS, and not part of any mission to attack Argentina. Probably Royal Marines SBS who played their own part in the Falklands, but weren’t involved in operations on the South American mainland.